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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25695418">The Lonely Arrow</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/ellie_effie/pseuds/ellie_effie'>ellie_effie</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Inquisition</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Book: Dragon Age - The Masked Empire, Dragon Age Lore, Fluff, Pre-Dragon Age: Inquisition - Trespasser DLC, Spoilers</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 07:41:13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,879</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25695418</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/ellie_effie/pseuds/ellie_effie</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>After a long day, Faye Lavellan decides to share an old Dalish legend by the campfire. What she can't imagine is how her companions will react, and much less the different take Sera has on the old tale.</p><p>It contains a minor spoiler of the story Felassan tells Briala in The Masked Empire.</p><p>This story stars my dear friend's OC: proudly Dalish rogue Faye Lavellan!<br/>I'm @ellie-effie on Tumblr if you want to drop by and say hi!</p><p>Notes in the end! Hope you enjoy it! :)</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Female Inquisitor/Sera, Female Lavellan/Sera</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>12</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>The Lonely Arrow</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>A typical day for the Inquisition’s forces was not as exciting as the bards’ tales made them sound. On that day, for instance, the Inquisitor and her companions had been looking for a way into a grove in the Exalted Plains only to find its entrance blocked by massive rocks. With nothing else to do, they simply set up camp to wait for Cullen’s forces to arrive.</p><p>And although they did nothing but hike all day, it hadn't been a particularly calm one either. The Iron Bull and Sera had argued once again about a kill that both claimed to have been theirs, to which Solas made a sharp remark about the consequences of their indiscriminate use of violence. Faye had to cut in to stop the discussion from escalating, admittedly not in the most cordial way, because she was also cross with both Sera and Solas. Faye had dreamt of the day she would finally see  the Dales, a place of such importance to the People’s history and culture, only to be constantly put down by the other elves’ nasty comments. </p><p>As night fell, their camp got quieter and Faye was able to overcome her frustration. The Iron Bull had built a fire and they were all sitting around it, and Faye was helping as he prepared and served their supper. Meanwhile, Solas and Sera were still not talking to each other. Faye noticed how they presented themselves as perfect opposites: Solas sitting on a log, perfectly erect back, arms crossed over his chest whereas Sera was sitting on the grass, legs splayed as she leaned against a rock.</p><p>Eager to cut down the tension, and perhaps influenced by the gigantic wolf statue overlooking the river, Faye remembered a story her Keeper told her back in the forest of Wycome.</p><p>-So, have you guys ever heard the tale of the village children that were saved by Fen’Harel?</p><p>At the mention of the name, Solas tensed up and shuddered while Sera simply blew raspberries. Bull, who like Faye didn’t appreciate sitting in silence in their camp, seemed to take an honest interest.</p><p>-I’ve heard that name before, isn’t he like a demon or something to your people?</p><p>-He’s said to be a trickster, a spirit of deceit, yes.- Faye explained in a low, dark voice and poked the fire. Solas huffed and said:</p><p>-Ah, so we are telling eerie stories by the fireside then? </p><p>Faye offered in a gentler tone:</p><p>-Look, I know you’ve had your problems with the Dalish, but I think this story- she turned to face Sera- can have an important lesson for our Jenny here.</p><p>Sera rolled her eyes and said:</p><p>-Last thing I want tonight is to hear a story about how the reeaal elves  were so maaagical and  speeeciaaal!</p><p>-But this one involves an arrow…-Faye smiled and  raised an eyebrow at her. Throwing her arms in the air, Sera capitulated:</p><p>-Ugh, fine! But it better be a good one.</p><p>-Here’s how my Keeper used to tell it.- Faye carried on in an excited but low voice. - We call him Fen'Harel, and he is the elven god of betrayal: the Dread Wolf, Lord of Tricksters and Bringer of Nightmares. - Solas cleared his throat, but Faye didn’t give him time to cut in- But legend has it that in the old days, Fen'Harel was always called upon by elves for aid and advice. Offerings of thanks were given for the Dread Wolf's help as he did follow through on promises, in his own strange and mysterious manner. </p><p>As Faye began her story, Solas noticed how captivated their companions were and couldn’t help but wonder how many times she had heard and told the same tale before (and how many more she knew). He lowered his head as Faye continued:</p><p>-The story goes: there was a village that was being attacked by a vicious beast, so they asked Fen’Harel to help them fight it. It was a huge, nasty thing that had been killing all elves in the village.</p><p>-Ah, must’ve been one of the good ones!- Bull said. Sera shushed him so Faye would continue, while Solas fixed his eyes on the ground with his brows furrowed.</p><p>-So Fen’Harel finally came, prepared for battle. He hunted down the monster, getting as close to it as he dared, assessing its size and powerful, sharp fangs. And when he came face to face with the beast, he readied his bow…</p><p>Faye let her words hang as Bull and Sera leaned closer.</p><p>-...and shot an arrow up in the sky.</p><p>-What? Why?- Bull asked in disappointment.</p><p>-Yeah, you gotta aim at the target if you want to hit the target! Not a smart move, Fenny!- Sera shouted and Solas humpfed.</p><p>-But the story isn’t over yet!- when Faye knew she had their attention, she continued:-  The villagers asked Fen'Harel how he would save them, and he said to them, ‘When did I say that I would save you?’ And he left.</p><p>-He left them?- Bull’s voice thundered. </p><p>Solas became visibly uncomfortable, adjusting to his seat he took a deep breath and braced himself. Bull and Sera  ignored him, and Faye wore a wise smik on her face. Sera said in exasperation:</p><p>-I mean, I was gonna say that the elves were dumb to trust a guy they call the Dread Wolf- to which Solas gritted his teeth- but Maker’s balls! He left them all to die just like that? </p><p>-Well, if you two would let me finish…-Faye took a gulp from her bottle and carried on:- So, night fell and as always the beast came with all its might. That time, it killed all the warriors and elders in the village. But in the middle of all that carnage, an almost miraculous thing happened…</p><p>-The Wolf came back and managed to save them all at last?- Bull asked with a glimpse of hope in his voice. Sera shushed him again:</p><p>-We’re getting to the good bit, Bull, shush!- Solas rolled his eyes and Faye snapped at them:</p><p>-As I was saying...- she took a deep breath- The arrow that Fen'Harel had released into the sky came whooshing down and struck a deadly blow on the fearsome beast. The children had been saved by the Dread Wolf’s astute plan. </p><p>Faye concluded her story and looked at her friends, grinning.  Bull whistled and shook his horns, but Sera frowned and blurted:</p><p>-So that’s that, ey? So the people ask for help, Wolfie shoots a single stupid arrow, job’s done, see you next time! That was bonkers, and I’ll tell you what! I expected more from a god, honest! - Solas puffed as if he was in pain.</p><p>-You’re missing the whole point of the story, Sera!- Faye snapped as Sera made a retching noise- The moral is that sometimes we can’t save everyone. It’s a hard lesson that all of us need to learn: we can be cunning, we can be strong, we can be powerful... And that still won’t allow us to save all people who are in danger. </p><p>Bull nodded solemnly and grunted in agreement, as Sera seemed  to have ignored her words, deeply concentrated on the bowl of stew in her hands. A few minutes of awkward silence passed.Faye finally looked at  Solas, who was pinching the bridge of his nose so hard that Faye thought he would have a bruise in the morning. She reached a hand to him and asked:</p><p>-Are you feeling okay?- she touched his shoulder and he looked at her, completely disgruntled. To lighten the mood, Faye chuckled and asked: -Was the story of the big, bad wolf too scary for you?</p><p>With a heavy and indignant huff, Solas stood up and opened his mouth to speak. But before he could say a word, Sera interjected:</p><p>-That was a load of bollocks, ya know?</p><p>All turned to look at the rogue, who was still staring down her stew as she continued:</p><p>-That’s not the lesson I take from that story, if you’d ask me. Honest, I mean no disrespect to your clan or whatever- she looked at the Inquisitor and said in a shy voice- but you’ve got it wrong.</p><p>Nobody reacted at first. Bull was feeling the awkwardness set in, as Faye opened and closed her mouth not knowing what to say. Solas was apparently petrified standing between the other two elves, both hands balled in fists, but he was looking at Sera with interest. After long seconds, Faye said as calm as she managed to:</p><p>-Alright then, Sera… How is it that we’ve got it wrong?</p><p>Sera perked up and said with earnest enthusiasm:</p><p>-Well, you see, I get that you focus on the “all the elders in the village was killed” part because it’s sad and all. But that was not what I was thinking about when you told us the story. See, the thing is… An archer can’t do much against a big beast alone, unless they’ve got a humongous amount of arrows at hand. And that still would be hard on him! Wolfie there would end up probably just wounding the thing and it’d get angry and go for him, and that’d be bad for sure, right?</p><p>-Right…- Lavellan said, considering Sera’s words carefully.</p><p>-So the problem wasn’t that he couldn’t kill the beast: the problem was that he tried to go at it alone. </p><p>Solas finally seemed to let go of some tension and was looking at Sera with his mouth agape. Bull scratched his head twice and finally nodded at Sera, and then it was Faye’s turn to consider the other elf’s words while looking deeply at her bowl of stew as Sera proceeded:</p><p>-So the lesson I take is… Alone? You’ll probably half ass it, so don’t do it. But with enough back up? Kill the beast, save the whole village, stay for supper.- Sera smiled proudly before taking a big spoonful of stew- Speaking of which, we should dig in before it gets cold! </p><p>But before she went back to eating, Sera glanced at the Inquisitor. Faye was looking over at her with warm eyes as she said:</p><p>-I suppose no one can get very far on their own, right?- Faye and Sera smiled at each other across the fireside, and as Faye mouthed “I love you”, Sera blushed and let out a little giggle.</p><p>-That’s a good take on the story, Sera! -Bull said, raising his own bowl at her before turning to Solas- Hey, Fade-walker! Take a seat and eat something, you’re looking more pale than usual!</p><p>Solas eyes fluttered as if he had woken from deep sleep and after a muttered “Forgive me”, he sat down and helped himself to some stew. Then he looked over at Sera, and cleared his throat. </p><p>- What? -Sera mumbled from a mouthful of potatoes.</p><p>-I was just wondering, Sera, how would you perceive--</p><p>-Oy, flabby ears!- Sera cut in with a smile, and when Solas raised his eyebrows she winked at him and continued: -One was enough for tonight, okay?</p><p>Solas conceded with a chuckle and went back to his stew.  The four of them finished their meal and cleaned around the camp together before going into their tents for the night.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I originally imagined this story as a conversation between my OC, Yondi'nne Lavellan, and her lover, Solas. But I soon realised my girl, as smart as she is, wouldn't reach the same conclusion as I did because she doesn't hace all the info I have. Oh, well!</p><p>So who else could reach the same conclusion? Especially about a story involving arrows? Her bestie, Sera! So I changed it up and gave Faye Lavellan and her girlfriend/future wifey some cosy time by the fire.</p><p>Hope you liked it! :)</p></blockquote></div></div>
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